Box Score

The University of Regina's women's basketball team led from start to finish in an 80-59 victory over UBC on Friday night as both teams opened their Canada West schedules at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Alyssia Kajati was 8-for-10 from the field and led all scorers with 17 points for the Cougars, while Charlotte Kot had 14 points and nine rebounds to fall just short of a double-double.

UBC (0-1) was led by 16 points from Kris Young, the reigning Canada West Player of the Year.

The Cougars (1-0) jumped out to an 11-4 lead by the midpoint of the first quarter and built up a double-digit lead by the end of the opening period. UBC cut into the lead into the second with a 7-0 run that included Maggie Sundberg three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to get back to within seven points, but the Cougars were able to get the advantage back up to 10 by the half.

UBC kept the deficit to about 10 points for most of the third quarter, but the No. 6-ranked Cougars finally pulled away with nine straight points over a two-minute span in the fourth.

The Cougars also had a strong performance from Sidney Dobner, who made her first start in a Cougar uniform after redshirting last season. Dobner filled the stat sheet with seven assists, six rebounds, and five assists in 21 minutes on the floor. Megan Chamberlin and Katie Polischuk both added nine points for the U of R in the victory.

Sundberg ended up 3-for-7 from three-point range and had 15 points for the Thunderbirds, while Stephanie Bell had 14 points in a strong 24 minutes off the bench. UBC will continue its road trip on Saturday with a game at Brandon (0-1) on Saturday night.

The Cougars are back in action on Saturday night against Victoria, which opened its season on Friday night with an 83-65 at Brandon. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the CKHS.